England cricket fans think Ben Stokes should be awarded a knighthood after his performance in the T20 World Cup final. Six years after the ultimate despair he suffered at the hands of West Indies star Carlos Brathwaite, the 31-year-old secured redemption by leading his side to victory against Pakistan yesterday.
His score of 52 not out anchored the innings as the Barmy Army chased down 137 with an over to spare and won by five wickets. With the ball, Stokes also produced 1-32 off his four overs as England stifled the Pakistan batting lineup at the MCG. With the victory, they are now the first side to hold both the 50-over and 20-over world titles at the same time. After yet another heroic performance, fans flocked to social media and demanded Stokes have the special honour bestowed upon him.
“@benstokes38 is surely the best England cricketer of all time? Give that man a knighthood," @WhiteyAlex7 said. His comments were echoed by @morm333, who wrote: "Surely @benstokes38 is inline for a knighthood after another match winning performance.
Stokes was again hailed by @whbroom012, who added: "The man won us 2 World Cups and produced a miracle in 2019."
@Sean_wilson87 also wrote: "Just give him the knighthood now. Running out of superlatives for this guy. Arguably the best cricketer I have seen play for England in my lifetime."
Captain Jos Buttler sang Stokes’ praises after the match and claimed he is the conversation to be considered England’s greatest ever player.
“He always stands up in the biggest moments,” Buttler said. “He’s a man who can take a lot of pressure on his shoulders and perform. With him in the middle, you know you’ve got a good chance. He’s a true match-winner and he’s been there in those scenarios time and time again. He just has a lot of know-how for how to do that.
“It certainly wasn’t his most fluent innings or he probably didn’t time the ball as well as he can, but we knew he was never going to go down without a fight and stand up and be there at the end. We’re immensely lucky to have him, he’s one of the great players of English cricket and he can be in the conversation for sure (to be regarded as England’s greatest cricketer of all-time).”
Sam Curran took incredible figures of three for 12 from four overs and was named player of the match. However he claimed the award should have gone to Stokes.
“I don’t think I should be getting this, I think Ben Stokes should get this [POTM],” he said post-match. “Big square boundaries, so I knew my into wicket bowling would work with big boundaries. I mixed it up with slower balls to make it tough for the batter."
His impressive bowing numbers represented the best ever from a fast bowler in a T20 World Cup final and went on to take 13 wickets throughout the campaign at an average of 11.38, which earned Curran the player of the tournament award.
